State trooper accused of stealing from fatal accident victim

An 18-year veteran of the state police was arrested after he allegedly failed to log evidence from a fatal crash in Fairfield in September.

John A Scalesse, 49, of Orange, died when his motorcycle slammed into the rear end of another vehicle on Route 15 on Sept. 22. He was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Following the fatal crash, family members determined that several items belonging to their loved one were missing, including jewelry, clothing and money.

State police conducted a lengthy investigation into the incident and found that the jewelry had never been logged by the trooper investigating the case, which was Aaron Huntsman, 43.

The investigation also unveiled large amounts of money in Huntsman's cruiser.

Huntsman turned himself into state police barracks in Bethany Thursday morning and was released on a $5,000 bond.

He was charged with two counts of third-degree larceny as well as interfering with police and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. Huntsman is expected to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on Dec. 10.

According to state police, Huntsman, who worked mostly in the Bridgeport area, is the subject of an internal affairs investigation.

"His police powers were suspended upon initiation of this investigation," state police said in a statement Thursday.

State Police Union Vice President Sgt. Andy Williams said in the statement that they are "asking the public to reserve judgement until all the facts are known."

"He recently resigned his office of union leadership to concentrate of defending his reputation," the statement on Thursday said.

Huntsman's attorney told Eyewitness News that his client had no comment on the matter.

According to his obituary, Scalesse is survived by his parents and siblings. He was also an executive of his own masonry company after working for another construction firm for decades.

That last text was sent September 19, half a day before Maria slammed into Puerto Rico. A week later, Jennifer's family in Louisiana is desperate to know what happened. The U.S. Coast Guard and the FBI are now looking for the missing boat.

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